About Ranjit Bhattacharjee
Ranjit Bhattacharjee, Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Mr. Cooper, has been associated with the company's commentary on the housing market and mortgage rates. In September 2024, Mr. Cooper Group CEO Jay Bray stated that if mortgage rates continue to fall, the company expects to see a significant increase in refinancing activity, noting that the company had its largest lock day in a year on the Friday and Saturday prior to the interview. Bray also said that 20% of the company's portfolio has a rate higher than 6%, and that a further 50 basis-point drop in rates would be needed to "really move the needle" on refinancing. He added that the company has been investing in its platform and adding capacity in preparation for a potential drop in rates.
In September 2022, Bray discussed the company's business model, describing it as "balanced" between origination and servicing. He stated that rising rates increase the value of the company's servicing assets and that Mr. Cooper was the third-largest servicer and largest non-bank servicer in the country, with a servicing portfolio of $710 billion at the time. Bray projected 15% growth in the portfolio for that year and noted that the company could help existing customers through cash-out refinances, even in a higher-rate environment.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Ranjit Bhattacharjee's recent appearances.
Browse all interviews →
Transcript (12 segments)
I
Interviewer0:02
It's great to have you here.
R
Ranjit Bhattacharjee0:04
Thanks, Kelly. Good to be here.
I
Interviewer0:06
A lot of people are putting their hopes in here maybe the housing market can rise if the rest of the economy falters. What do you think about that?
R
Ranjit Bhattacharjee0:15
I think if rates do fall and continue to fall, you'll see a lot of refinance. We had our biggest lock day on Friday and Saturday, application day, than we've had in a year. If you look at our overall portfolio, 20% has a rate higher than 6%. So we'll see what happens with rates, but it certainly could lead to a massive movement in refinance.
I
Interviewer0:42
It's a confusing thing to talk about because people think the housing market has been going up because prices have gone up but activity itself has been low because there's so little inventory. If rates drop a little bit, do you think we get inventory coming back in the market?
R
Ranjit Bhattacharjee0:59
I do. I think you have a lot of people on the sidelines, to your point. They have the lower rate, they're locked in, and they're sitting on a ton of appreciation. If rates come down, I think that will spur quite a bit of activity on the purchase side.
I
Interviewer1:13
Remind me, how much — there wasn't much purchase activity going on in terms of the business mix.
R
Ranjit Bhattacharjee1:19
Yeah. No, look, in this market we're focused on the services business. The largest servicer in the country. We service one out of ten mortgages in the country, and that has been tremendous. And we think about our business, to your point earlier, as a balanced business model so we can really succeed in any rate environment. But servicing has really been our focus in the last year, year and a half, as rates have continued to increase.
I
Interviewer1:49
So you said you had a really busy day on Friday, the busiest in a year. 6.5% mortgage rates really move the needle? What would?
R
Ranjit Bhattacharjee1:59
I think you'll have to get another 50 basis-point move to really move the needle. Again, if you look at our portfolio and certainly we're representative across the country, we have about 20% that is above that 6% rate. So for a customer to really get a benefit, you're going to need to see more movement before you see a ton of activity. Look, we'll see if the Fed stays the course or if they make a move. I think if that does happen, you're going to see a lot of activity. We've been investing in our platform, if you look at what we've tried to do over the past couple of years, we've added a lot of capacity. We've had a lot of team members there. So we're ready if rates do continue to move down.
I
Interviewer2:47
And do you have a view on what would help push the spread lower? I think it's about a half point wider than usual, so we're not getting the full benefit of lower rates to lower mortgage rates. We have this half-point spread. People say it's because of regulation, because it's all in the Fed's balance sheets. There's a number of things to sift through. Do you have any idea what would help on that front?
R
Ranjit Bhattacharjee3:15
No, I don't see it changing anytime soon, to your point, for really all the factors.
